Tukkie faces murder charge

A final-year student from the University of Pretoria (UP), faces a charge of murder after he allegedly strangled a fellow student.

The 23-year old man was arrested in Nelson Mandela Drive on Friday after being tracked by members of the Douglasdale police and the Hawks.

The dead student, who cannot be named as her next of kin have not yet been informed, was murdered in her family home in Fourways on Wednesday last week. A source close to the investigation said her parents were abroad at the time.

The suspect and the dead woman were allegedly a couple.

They both studied law at the University of Pretoria.

It is alleged that a fight broke out between the two during which he strangled her, ransacked the home and made off in the family’s BMW X5.

According to the source, the suspect parked the vehicle in an underground parking lot in Sunnyside for two days.

He was arrested shortly after retrieving the vehicle on Friday.

Provincial duty officer Captain Pinky Tsinyane confirmed his arrest and said he was being detained at the Douglasdale police station.

Tsinyane said the suspect appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s court yesterday. He faces a charge of murder and and another of possession of a stolen vehicle.

“The investigation is ongoing,” Tsinyane said.

UP spokeswoman Nicolize Mulder said the university was informed last week of the death of the student. She confirmed that both were students at the university.

“The university extends its sincere condolences to the family of the victim and will render any possible support to them during this difficult time,” she said. - Pretoria News